Being a Father ain't that Easy
by ChielRobhinne Bezarius
Summary: Four-year-old Ciel can be very sweet and adorable, but Vincent knew that he still needs to watch out for tantrum outbreaks, especially now that Rachel is nowhere to assist him.


_**Title: **__Being a Father Ain't That Easy_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Kuroshitsuji is Yana Toboso-sama's property. __I don't know Klaus' surname and the name of the only lady in Vincent's group so I invented names for them. Also, I made an OC to act as a maid. Aside from the plot itself, that's what only I could claim._

_**A/N: **__Sorry, it's not Yaoi. Only chibi, adorable Ciel with his Daddy… Enjoy this cuteness for our beloved Main Character!  
_

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Oh, how time flies. It was as if yesterday when Vincent married his wife, Rachel, and settled down at the Phantomhive mansion. The Earl was pondering about his earlier days, when he did nothing but study and learn all the things regarding on how to manage their business and household, when the door to his office created a creaking noise. He paused and remained standing in front of his window. He knew that sound; those careless little footsteps belonged to only one.

Those little feet stopped, just a little close to where the Earl was standing. Vincent waited. He knew exactly what would happen.

"Pick-a-boo!" went a lively, childish voice. The silence was broken by it the moment Vincent turned around. Laughing, he leaned down to pick up the little boy in front of him.

"You scared Daddy," Vincent said, faking a pout. It had been almost five years since he and Rachel lived together, but he still couldn't believe that he has a four-year old son now.

"I scared you!" The boy laughed as well, wrapped his arms around his father's neck, and rubbed his little nose on him as a sign of greeting. Vincent responded by doing the same.

"So, what's my baby wanted this time?"

"I wanna play, Daddy," little Phantomhive answered. Last year had been a little unfamiliar for Vincent, since Ciel, his son, turned three and had started addressing his father on a daily basis, running in hallways, laughing, and doing such things that a child normally do. During the first and second years, the child rarely talks and it was always 'Mommy', not him whom he calls for attention, so the following years was a real big change for the Earl's career as a father.

"What do you want to play?"

"Hide n' seek," he answered with his normal cheerful tone, though the words seemed a little crooked with the way he pronounced it.

"Hm, that's a little handy."

Ciel pouted. "Pretty please?"

Vincent stared at his son and smiled. For a short period of time that he was able to spend with him, he was able to master a little some of the tips on how to handle a child. But things aren't that easy despite how it looks, especially when your wife is not at home for a vacation. If your child wants to play Hide and Seek, it's better to say yes. "Alright, I'll hide then—"

"No, No," Ciel interrupted. "I hide and you seek."

"Oh, then I'm going to put you down now."

Ciel ran away, giggling, the moment his father put him down on the floor. He paused before the door and stared back at his father, pointing at the closed entry. "Door. Open," he said. He had forgotten that he accidentally closed it when he entered a while ago, and since he's too small to reach the doorknob, he'll need his father's help.

"Here you go," Vincent offered and let him pass. But before Ciel could walk off the room, he was halted by his father again. "I think my baby is forgetting something."

Ciel looked up, eyes filled with confusion.

"What will you say when someone does you a favor?"

"Oh! Thank you, Daddy. So sorry"

"I'm not angry. Just don't forget those important things," he reminded after patting Ciel on the head. "Well then, off you go. You better hide in a good place. I'll count to ten, and by that I'll go look after you."

"Yesh, sir!" Ciel saluted, and then dashed off the room.

"I hope they'll postpone the meeting." Vincent sighed and sat back down on his armchair. "My, I guess today will be a long day."

The Earl knew that it would be much better with the Countess around. He had always been a busy man to begin with, not to mention that in that particular day, some of his acquaintances would be coming to talk about a very serious business. He just hoped they won't come at the wrong timing.

After one minute of staying inside the work office, Vincent went out to start his search. Aside from chess, which Ciel had grew interested in months ago, Hide and Seek is his favorite game. He was always asking his parents to go and play with him, and every time they play it, it was always he who seeks for them. So now, it was his turn to hide. Vincent quietly entered the boy's bedroom. He looked around, examining the whole place. Just for a mere second, a little something occurred in his thoughts.

"Found you," Vincent said, as he pulled up the covers and ducked his head beneath the bed.

" Wah!" Ciel yelled. He crawled out from under, pouting his lips like a child fighting another kid. "So unfair!"

Vincent chuckled. "Oh, that's not being unfair. You hid and I found you. That ends the game, right?" He remembered during stormy nights, Ciel would always hide under his bed whenever he got scared of thunders. Ever since before, he hates the rain. He said that thunders might go in their house and hit him, which will never happen of course. The child and his imagination, it's beyond the limit. Vincent wonders if that one was genetically passed on to his son, remembering that he as well had a very broad imagination when he was still a kid.

Ciel stared. "Not yet," he said and darted off the room again. "Base! Base! Base!" His babyish voice echoed through the hallway. Vincent could still hear him giggling.

He decided that it was better to just follow the child. When he was already near the door, a loud thug caught his ear, followed by a cry. He immediately rushed to the crime scene after hearing the familiar voice. He froze in seeing a worst case scenario. "_My wife is going to kill me._" Ciel was lying on the floor with his poor face kissing the hard concrete. "S-Sweetheart, are you alright?" Vincent asked after kneeling and pulling Ciel into his lap.

"D-Dad… H-Hu… Hurts," Ciel answered. He couldn't quite clearly make out the words, since his cries had replaced his normal speech. But still, having the advantage of a parent, Vincent still understood what Ciel was talking about. Of course, it had hurt the poor boy. It's concrete, one of its hardest kinds, not to mention that Ciel is a four-year-old kid. Normally, a loud cry will be anticipated. So in times of such situations, Vincent would need his power.

"There, there… Daddy got you," Vincent soothed. "I'll make the pain go away." He led Ciel back into his office and head towards the cabinet to get a medicinal kit. Rachel had ordered to keep one in his study for emergency purposes. In fact, every room had one. He just didn't have the time to search for it in Ciel's room. They both sat on the big armchair, with Ciel on Vincent's lap. The latter took an ointment from the box and gently spread a little amount of it on Ciel's forehead. He then ordered a maid to get some ice. The maid went back with a small bag of ice and handed it over to the Earl. "Stay still," he ordered, as he got ready to place it on the forehead.

"D-Don't wanna! I-It hurts!" Ciel screamed and continued to push his father's hand away.

"Ciel, be a good boy and stay still. We need to put a cold thing on it to avoid the swelling," Vincent explained, though for some reason, he had forgotten that Ciel couldn't understand what he was talking about, adding the fact that his tone had become more serious.

"N-No! M-Mommy!" he continued, though, this time his cries became much louder. "I-I want my mommy! Daddy's scary!"

Vincent snapped out from his serious façade and loosened his grip on Ciel. "O-Oh, I'm so sorry. I won't be scary anymore, so stop crying." When Ciel didn't stop, he reached for the drawer of his oak desk and took a piece of candy from it. He stores a lot of it in his table for cases such as this one. "Here, Daddy will give this to you if you stop from crying. You're a good boy, right?"

At last, Ciel stopped, though his sobs were still apparent.

Vincent gently placed the ice pack on Ciel's small hands and slowly guided him for the act. "You do it, so you won't get hurt." Ciel nodded and did what he was told. If candies are concerned, he becomes as obedient as a lamb. After the success of the plan, Vincent placed a kiss on Ciel's forehead and gently rocked him on his embrace. "There you have it. The pain's gone now."

Ciel smiled and embraced him back. They stayed there for some peaceful minutes, until someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Vincent said. Tanaka, the family's butler, entered with news on hand. "Oh, Tanaka, have they arrived?"

"Yes, my lord. Lord Gaston and Lady Osborn are waiting at the lounge."

"How about my right hand?"

"Master Deiderich called a while ago that he won't be coming for the meeting. I was told to inform you, sir."

"I see. I'll be there in a minute. Could you please make some tea, Tanaka? And, oh please call for Mary Anne."

"Right away, sir."

Vincent, Ciel on hands, strode to the room where his visitors were waiting. Before he entered, he first waited for the maid he had called for.

"You called, my lord?" said Mary Anne.

"Ah, yes. Will you please get Ciel for now?" Vincent asked, and then turned to look at his son who looked up to meet his gaze. "Go and play with Mary for now. Daddy needs to talk to someone."

"I wanna go too!" Ciel responded and tightened his grip on his father.

"No, Ciel. Stay with her this time."

"P-Please, Daddy? I don' wanna go with Marianne. I wanna stay with Daddy." Ciel began to emit tears from his eyes once again.

Vincent sighed. "But, Ciel, I can't bring you in. We have to talk of a very important stuff." He turned to the waiting maid and handed Ciel over. "Take care of him for the meantime," he said and then off he immediately went inside.

"D-Daddy! Daddy!" Ciel continued to cry and scream, trying to jump off from the maid's grasp. But the lady was eager not to let go of the boy unless she wanted to receive a good scolding from her master.

Vincent closed the door behind him, put up his usual composure, and sat at the chair opposite the two guests. "Pardon me for the delay."

"It seems like you're having a hard time babysitting, Earl Phantomhive," Klaus Gaston, a German business man and one of Vincent's associates, said with a chuckle.

"Ah, Klaus… don't say that. Today is just a wrong time for me to spend the day with my son."

"It looks like it, Earl," this time, it was Margaret Osborn who spoke—one of the evil noblemen, in fact the only lady in the group. "It is rude of me to ask, but where is the Countess?"

"She went on a vacation together with her sister. My wife needs a break," Vincent answered.

"I see. What a caring husband." Margaret smiled, but for some reason, her way of looking at the door and back to the Earl seemed like a combination of anxiety and confusion.

"Is there something the matter, my lady?"

"Oh, I beg to stick my nose on other people's affair, but I do think you should get your son."

Well, listening to the atmosphere, there was indeed a need for the Earl to get back to his son. Ciel's cries were still echoing outside. Vincent bet that Mary Anne was having a hard time stopping the boy from his untimely tantrums.

"I would like to stop him from crying but he insists on coming with me."

"Why don't you just bring the poor child here?" Klaus asked.

"You know I can't. This meeting is a very sensitive one."

"Oh, rest assure, he won't be able to understand it anyway."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Vincent sighed for the third time that day.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Earl. I hate to order you around, but you should get going."

"Very well, excuse me." Vincent stood up from sitting and went out of the room. Not far from where he was at, was Mary Anne kneeling beside Ciel. The latter was able to get away from her grasp and now he was there on the floor, crying his voice box out. Vincent suddenly remembered the sickness Ciel acquired from Rachel—asthma, and letting him cry for more than five minutes is not a very good idea. He rushed towards the crying boy and lifted him up from the floor.

"D-Da… Daaaa… Dada…" Due too much crying, Ciel was having a hard time saying the word '_Daddy_'.

Vincent didn't know if he would laugh or not. His son is just so damn cute. He just let the child nuzzled at him. Aside from giving your son or daughter whatever he or she asked for, dealing with an extremely sickly child who had cried for the second time that day is the ultimate task for a father. "There, Daddy's here now, see? Stop crying. You can come now with me."

The moment little Ciel heard it, his cries diminished into sobs and hiccups.

"Good boy," Vincent complimented and brushed some strands of disheveled bangs away from Ciel's baby face. He then turned to the young maid.

"F-Forgive me, m'lord! T-The Young Master d-doesn't want me to touch him a-and I wasn't able to stop him from crying."

"It's alright, Mary Anne. You can go back to your other chores now. Thank you."

"Y-Yes, m'lord." The maid bowed down and scurried off back to the kitchen. On the other hand, Vincent went back to the lounge together with Ciel. They were greeted by the two, who almost laugh upon seeing the Queen's almighty Watch Dog entering a room with a sobbing child on his arms.

"I do not have a choice now, have I?" Vincent asked the two, as he put Ciel down on the sofa next to him. "Now, listen to Daddy, Ciel," he asked for his son's attention while he was busy wiping the tears on his face. "We are going to discuss something important, so I want you to behave. Can you do that?" Ciel said nothing and just nod. "Good. Daddy wants you to just sit there and eat. If you're a good boy until we're done, I'll reward you something later." Vincent took a cupcake from the table and handed it over to his son. The latter just happily took the treat and just sat comfortably beside his father.

The meeting started, with each of them exchanging ideas of the current event. Leading an underground association known as the "_Evil Noblemen_", the Earl as the Queen's Watch Dog, was assigned to go check the current flow of business in the underground world. With his subordinates, they were ordered to clean any impurities happening there. Right at that month, a rumor regarding various killings and illegal Opium business was spreading throughout East End, but then now the news about some nobles leading the brigade had reached the Queen, herself.

"So it is the Opium that had been causing those _you-know-what_?" Vincent asked Klaus. They decided not to mention anything pertaining to killings, for Vincent was afraid that Ciel might hear.

Klaus nodded. "And, we found the lead. We gathered two. The one who thought of using your products' brand name is a different person. Generally, they like the taste. Believing it came from the Funtom, had caused your name on the line. The Scotland Yard is on the move. You better watch your back, Earl. These two are eager to see you fall."

"I'll deal with the Yard after. That won't happen, Klaus. Weeds are hard to kill unless you pulled it off along with its roots. Attacking from under is the best idea. A simple method of digging and pulling will be enough to see them inside a garbage can," Vincent said with a smirk. "I'll inform Deiderich about it. We'll move toni—"

"What's an O-pum?" Vincent was halted from talking when Ciel asked the question.

The three of them all looked at the boy. "Opum?" Lady Margaret asked, while Klaus burst into pits of laughter.

"It's not Opum, Ciel. It's O-pi-um," Vincent explained.

"O-pi…um? A mouse?"

"N-No," this time, Vincent was also laughing. "You mean a Possum? It's different from that."

"Can you eat it?"

"An Opium? No." He took Ciel and placed him on his lap. "You can't eat it. Where did you get that idea?"

"Candies."

Vincent remembered that Klaus did say that they were replacing their products. That's probably why Ciel thought of the _candy_ thingy. "Oh, then let's just say some do make it like a medicine. But it's dangerous to anyone's health."

"Don't like medichine. Tastes bad." Ciel stick his tongue out like he was disgusted by something.

"Yes, yes. Opium is not for babies."

"Then Daddy can have one?"

"Oh, no. It's bad for the health."

"An ideal father, huh," Klaus butted in.

"Really, Klaus, I'll appreciate it if you stop that."

"Seeing the Earl cuddling his child like that creates a beautiful picture," Margaret added. "Your son asks a lot of question. He's a smart kid, I can see. I bet he'll grow up just like you, Earl."

"Probably," Vincent answered and looked down at Ciel, who was now yawning. He must have been tired from all those playing and crying. "Sleepy?" Ciel nodded. "I'll bring you to your room now."

"Don't want to. I'll sleep here with Daddy."

"Alright" Vincent gently laid the boy on his lap, with his arm supporting his back. "Close your eyes, now."

"Sing," Ciel whispered.

"What is it?"

"Sing to me."

Vincent was dumbfounded. It had been Rachel's habit to sing her son to bed, so the child couldn't fell asleep without someone singing to him any lullabies. Unfortunately, Vincent knew nothing about lullabies. He had never sung a child to sleep before from his entire life. "W-What song do you want?"

"Mommy's song," Ciel answered.

Vincent responded by looking at the two people opposite him, as if asking them, _what the heck __is that song_? He heard Rachel sang it before, but he couldn't remember the lyrics and the tune.

"Oh, goodie! The Earl's going to sing," Klaus whispered. "Let us here you singing then, Lord Phantomhive."

For the fourth time, Vincent sighed. Embarrassed or not, he had to do it if he do not want to see his son throwing a tantrum again. "I-I… well, Daddy doesn't know that song, Ciel. I'll just sing you a different one." Ciel just slowly nod his head. Vincent thought of a good song he knew. Unluckily for him, just a single song popped out from his mind. "London Bridge is falling down," he began, "…falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling…"

"It's a nursery rhyme, Earl, not a lullaby—"

"Shh…" Margaret shushed the man from saying any unnecessary things. She asked Klaus if they could leave for the meanwhile to let the Earl do his job. She just gave the latter a sign that they would be waiting at the next room. The Earl agreed.

_Indeed a lame one_, he thought. What can he do? It was the first song that came out. After all, that Nursery Rhyme had been a famous song game for children. He just heaved a sigh of relief when Ciel finally fell asleep. His singing tactics had been effective.

Vincent looked down and examined his son. He had the look of serenity on his face. He couldn't help but smile as he put a kiss on Ciel's forehead. Being a father is not that easy. Yes, he had to admit, he is looking forward on seeing him grow up and be able to stand on his own two feet. But as of now, he had to enjoy first the bliss of having a little child as long as he still can.

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_**A/N:**__ *Glomps* Ciel is sooo cute! Sorry, if there's no Sebastian. I just wanted some Father and Son bonding between Ciel and Vincent. I'm still new in writing (and I'm not that good) so I'll be happy to receive reviews from you guys! :D_


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